Please help - urgent advice needed

naturalsuperwoman

Hi Ames,

He is an owner and inherited the property. He doesn’t claim housing benefit but get council tax relief because he is disabled cannot work and previously lived on his own.

When I talk about other departments one was someone who came to investigate a noise complaint from a neighbouring home and the other was someone who came to talk about access to a home improvement loan. Neither were specifically related to the council tax department.

The home improvement grant was something I investigated to help him improve the property as it has no heating other than portable heaters and he spends long periods of time in bed due to his disability and the property is very cold.

. A visiting officer is coming to talk to him about his council tax support claim. I have spoken to them this morning to re-arenage the visit and I will try to get someone there to support him if I can’t do it.

In general I have done a lot of supporting him with liaising with utility providers etc but I only do this informally. As I live a long distance away it’s sometimes difficult to know what’s going on and he often forgets who he has spoken to and about what.

CIS

My local council have rejected any student registration doc that says "fees pending" which can happen if the international student is waiting for whatever powers may be to pay up. They tell me to come back with the Registration Doc when it says "Fees Paid". O and I must bring in the original so they can scan it! Drives me crazy but I try to stick to their rules even if they seem to make them up every Monday.

What the council should be asking for is the student certificate as the evidence of fees being paid is not evidence of being on a qualifying course of education (as far as points of legislation the council have no delegated powers to vary it).

There is no fee requirement in legislation, the requirement is that a person is undertaking a qualifying course of education. A person could have their fees waived and still be on a qualifying course of education. The council are on dodgy ground if they turn down people just on the basis of fees (I'd love to see that one at a tribunal).